Will No One Save Me: The Broken Strawberry
by FrozenSoulOfMidnight
Summary: Redone - When a decree made by the highest authority of Soul Society is mandated, Ichigo is the one to suffer. Will he be able to continue living when everyone has abandoned him? Or will he sink into the darkness and give up? Only time will tell.
1. Dark Beginnings

Hello everyone, yes I'm back! Here's the new version of Will No One Save Me: A Bleach Fanfiction. This is a late christmas present for everyone! Go ahead and flame me because I was late! I'm so sorry and I deserve the flames. Writer's block and Procrastination kept the story from being posted. Also note the fact that the first chapter is almost as big as all the chapters of the old one put together… I'm so kicka**

Disclaimer(for the entire story, every chapter): I do not own Bleach. If I did I would be filthy rich and wouldn't have to go to college but alas I don't.

Ichigo: Thank god.

.....I'll remember that....(evil smirk)

Ichigo: Kenpachi's smirk is worse...

....(evil devious idea) OI Zaraki!

(zaraki appears with his pink fairy on his shoulder)

Ichigo: (pales) oh s***

Kenpachi: Yo Ichigo! Ready for our rematch!

Ichigo: (takes off running with kenpachi on his heels)

...hehe....teaches him...

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Dark Beginnings**_

The sun rose gently, bringing with it the soft, pastel hues it was so known for. Pale yellows, deep rich blues, and pale faded pinks blended together in a beautiful harmony in the morning sky. As thin, smudged clouds began to appear in the pale sky, a single ray of soft, golden sunlight began to travel across the roofs of the quaint, worn old japanese shacks. The small shelters were stretched in rows as far as the eye could see. As the shacks glowed with the rising sun, a small breeze rustled the ground; creating sleepy, lazy dust clouds. The worn streets seemed quiet and serene.

Suddenly the peaceful silence echoing through the streets was broken by the hustle and bustle of busy shopkeepers setting up their wares. The occupants of the old shacks began to stir and awaken as people, both young and old began to fill the streets. Children giggled as they ran squealing through the streets. Their parents watched, letting them indulge in the bright, sunny weather. A group of adults bartered persistently with the stubborn shopkeepers in an attempt to get the prices lowered. Some elderly women sat upon benches and talked about the days when they were young and about the weather.

The gentle breeze rustled through the happy, busy streets and carried the different scents and sounds. Mouth-watering scents of apples, cinnamon, and fresh-baked dango drifted through the noses of the inhabitants. The gentle breeze caressed and calmed them. It carried with it a happy optimism of a bright, young day. As the breeze carried itself past the rows of shacks and into the maze-like walls of Seireitei, the sounds became more tranquil and peaceful.

A tall, blond woman closed her eyes as the gentle breeze teased and caressed her wavy, waist-length blond hair. She smiled gently as she opened her eyes. Silver-blue eyes framed by long, curled eyelashes gave her a slight catlike look. As she lifted a slim, tanned hand to shade her face, her soft, plump lips curved into a smile. The dimple on her cheek only made her look even more exotic than she did. After all, what man could resist her rather large "assets" or her perfect curves in all the right areas? The exotic beauty leaned her head to the side and sighed.

"It's such a nice day, isn't it? Just perfect for drinking sake." She said in peaceful content as she tilted the brown bottle in a toast to the sun. She then brought it to her lips and prepared to take a sip.

"What do you think you're doing, Matsumoto?" a childlike deadpan voice asked. Matsumoto jumped, letting go of the precious bottle and sending it flying over her head. She gulped nervously and turned slowly as the temperature around her lowered drastically. As she chuckled nervously, she noticed that she could see smoke clouds of her breath. She shivered due to the cold and a sudden wave of fear as she looked at the ground. She stared at the broken shards of her sake bottle on the ground. She looked up back up towards the person in front of her slowly as she inwardly prayed for her life. She looked at the vertically-challenged teenager in front of her who was soaked to the bone with sake. His pure white hair stuck to his head with broken shards of the bottle ensnared in his hair. He glared at her with teal eyes.

Matsumoto couldn't help it. The image was far too hilarious. She started giggling hysterically at the young white-haired boy. The soaked boy frowned and the air dropped another ten degrees.

"Shouldn't you be working?" The boy asked suddenly. Matsumoto looked at him and tried to fight off the urge to giggle.

"But, taichou, _they_ are coming today." The blond exotic beauty whined. Teal eyes narrowed in annoyance as the teenager glared at the woman.

"That does _**not**_ give you an excuse to stop working." he snapped. His eyes glared daggers as the blond pouted cutely.

"But I'm too excited to work." she whined as she crossed her arms over her enormous chest. The boy sighed in frustration. 'I wish Matsumoto would grow up. I might as well give up. She never does any work anyways. At least I'll get some peace.' he thought as he let out a deep sigh. He closed his eyes for a second and then whirled around. His soft wet squelching steps could be heard as he started off in the opposite direction. Matsumoto quietly giggled behind her hand. The young taichou stopped for a second.

"Matsumoto." he stated as he turned back towards her. The blond airhead whistled innocently as she put on an innocent expression. The teenagers left eyebrow began to twitch. 'Who does that woman think she's fooling?' he thought in annoyance.

"Yes taichou?" she practically sang. Her expression turned to one of a person in the happiest mood of her life. She started smiling as if she were floating on the sky.

"Your pay for this week will be cut in half." Her taichou stated dryly. Matsumoto's happy bubble burst. She slumped down on her knees and her eyes filled up with tears. The taichou, used to her pathetic antics, quickly walked off before she could try something. 'That woman is so air-headed.' He thought in irritation.

Matsumoto cried chibi tears. "NOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

Her screams echoed through the gray, empty streets of Seireitei.

Over in another part of the maze-like rows of buildings, was a huge courtyard with the kanji with another building behind it. The plain, black kanji for eleven surrounded by a diamond was upon a huge white sign on the building. You could hear the sounds of metal clanging against metal and deep, harsh breaths coming from the gray courtyard. Two men stood panting heavily as they watched one another cautiously The first man, a young one with short, black hair and brown eyes suddenly bowed respectfully to the other man. The other man, a baldy, had red oval-like tattoos on the outer edges of his eyelids. The bald man chuckled loudly.

"Good job, newbie. Work on yer swing though. Alright which one of you amateurs are next?" the man snapped. Another man, this one more burly and muscular, stood up.

"I am ready, Ikkaku-dono." The big man stated respectfully as he got into his ready stance. Ikkaku nodded in agreement to the man's respectful response.

"Very well, Begin!" Ikkaku commanded. The fight began with the burly man suddenly swinging his sword forwards. Ikkaku easily parried the blow and made a sidewards swing towards the other man's stomach. The burly man backed up and thrust his sword towards Ikkaku's head. Ikkaku smirked as he parried the blow with the ease of a trained master. The fight then began to become more deadly as the men danced a dance of passion, and death using their swords to slice and tear at each other. After a few minutes the two fighters breathed heavily as they stopped for a second to catch their breath.

"Good reactions, Newbie!" Ikkaku yelled as he swung his sword again and began anew the dance of death.

As the two fighters fought harshly, another man observed them. This man was enormously tall. His black hair was in long spikes towards the top of his head with a tiny gold bell on the end of each spike. A simple black and white eye patch was over his left eye. A scar over his other eye and his sharply cut face structure completed the image of a very imposing persona. In his hand was a small plain white cup. In his other was a small gray bottle. As he slightly swirled the contents of the cup, he sighed. The pink-haired girl next to him giggled.

"Neh, neh Ken-chan are you bored? Or is it you wanna fight Ichi?" the girl asked as she smiled and looked over at her companion.

"Why do you ask?" he asked seriously. She only shook her head and looked over at the two shinigami fighting.

"No reason." she smiled as she continued watching, becoming engrossed in the dance of clashing swords.

"Pachinko head sure is working them hard, isn't he?" she asked out of the blue. Her companion sighed deeply.

"Does it matter?" he asked her gruffly. She only smiled and shook her head again.

"Nope!" she chirped. The man next to her took another sip from the white cup.

"Ahh..." he sighed in content. Yachiru smiled. 'Ken-chan won't say it but he wants to go play with Ic-'. Her thoughts cut off as a familiar tangerine-haired teenager entered the courtyard. Yachiru giggled in glee.

"Ken-chan, Ken-chan, look it's Ichi!" she chirped happily. The man beside her looked up sharply.

"O-Ohayo Kenpachi, um... where is..." The teenager stammered nervously as the one-eyed man turned to look at him with a sadistic expression on his face.

"So you came for a rematch, eh Ichigo?" Kenpachi asked in a disturbingly happy tone. The teenager's eyes widened. He started chuckling nervously while scratching the back of his head as he backed away.

"N-no actua-" he never finished as a long sword came swinging down. Ichigo yelped suddenly and leaped back.

"Get him Ken-chan!" Yachiru cheered her companion on. 'Yay! Now Ken-chan will get to play!' the demonic pink-haired midget thought as she giggled childishly.

Ichigo's chocolate eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he turned tail and fled. The pink-haired girl leaped on Kenpachi's shoulder and they took chase after the young orange-haired shinigami.

"All I wanted was directions!" Ichigo shouted as he ran for his life.

While this was happening, two men were walking down another one of Seireitei's gray streets. The man in the front wore a Captain's haori over the usual black shihakushou. A bluish-green scarf was wrapped around his neck. His eyes were a smoky dull charcoal and his hair was shoulder-length and black. Two hairpieces were attached, one on the top of his head, another one on the left side. Behind him, another man followed, this one having the usual shihakushou but on his right arm was a badge attached to a piece of greenish-gray cloth, signifying his rank as a vice-captain. His fire-red hair was up in a ponytail with a white cloth wrapped around his forehead. His eyes were a dark oak brown and his skin was a healthy tan. He had lightning-like tattoos on his neck and arms, making him look very tribal. As he walked behind his taichou, he gulped nervously and opened his mouth to speak. Suddenly a blur came flying by. The tattooed man blinked. 'What the...'

The two men turned suddenly and watched silently as the shinigami substitute ran like the devil was on his heels. Five seconds later the man known as the devil of Soul Society practically flew by with his devious pink-haired cohort. The tattooed man smirked.

'Heh, it seems Zaraki-taichou's at it again.' he thought in amusement as he turned around at the sudden whistling sound. He watched in silent amusement as the shinigami panted heavily.

You look like you just ran a race with the devil." Renji taunted. He didn't even flinch as dark-chocolate eyes glared daggers at him.

"Shut up Renji." The orange-haired shinigami snarled as he attempted to catch his breath. The red-head snickered as the tired substitute shinigami attempted to glare but failed. Renji only snickered even more.

"Lost...him...I...think." The shinigami substitute muttered as his breathing slowed. The red-head's eyes glittered ruthlessly.

"Maybe I oughta tell him you're here?" he suggested wickedly. The orange-haired shinigami paled and shuddered.

"Don't!" The tangerine-haired youth warned the red-head. Renji ignored him and opened his mouth to yell. Faster than he could even get out a syllable, Ichigo had his hand clamped over the red-head's mouth.

"Don't let him know I'm here!" The orange-haired youth hissed. The red-head's response was to suddenly bite down on the hand covering his mouth. The shinigami substitute winced in pain and pulled away his hand.

"What the hell did you think you were doing, Baka?" The red head snarled in anger. Chocolate eyes glared at the red head darkly.

"I could ask the same thing, teme!" Ichigo yelled. They glared daggers at each other, a clash of dark oak brown and chocolate brown in a mental battle of wits.

"Abarai, you are a fuku-taichou. Act it." a cold, emotionless voice interrupted their silent glaring contest. The red-head looked up, startled.

"Gomen nasai, taichou." He apologized as he then turned and bowed respectfully to the dark-haired captain. The red-head's dark, narrow eyes gave the orange-haired youth in front of him a heated glare that promised pain later. He then turned around and stepped towards his stoic Captain. The Captain in question silently observed the orange-haired youth with emotionless grey eyes. The substitute shinigami squirmed slightly, the Captain's glare unnerving him deeply. The dark-haired shinigami only twitched the sides of his lips downwards. The youth gulped slightly as the unnerving glare continued.

"Why are you still here, Kurosaki Ichigo?" the stoic man asked.

"Hehe, Ukitake-san said he won't be able to open the portal until after some meeting he has." Ichigo responded nervously. The stoic shinigami's gray eyes narrowed.

"Very well, leave soon. You do not belong here." The captain stated as he turned to leave. The red-head followed suit. Ichigo watched as they walked off into the distance. With a deep sigh of relief, he slumped against the white worn wall and sat down.

"Man that Byakuya can be tense as hell." he commented dryly as he closed his eyes and sighed once more. He leaned his head up as he felt the gentle breeze in the air.

A sudden insane chuckle made his chocolate eyes shoot open. He knew that laugh and it chilled him to the bone.

'OH CRAP!' he thought in a panic.

"I found ya Ichigo!" the rough, sadistic voice of Zaraki Kenpachi echoed around the substitute shinigami. Ichigo looked around fearfully as he searched his surroundings for the notorious captain. On seeing nothing, he nervously looked up. There he was, in the air above him with his sword drawn and ready to slice him in half. With eyes as wide as dinner plates, Ichigo watched the Captain drop as if in slow motion. His mind suddenly jump-started and he quickly rolled to the side . He watched the insane captain land on the ground, making a small shock wave of ground tear up. His eyes as wide as dinner plates, Ichigo watched the scarred face twist into an evil grin. He shuddered slightly.

"Wha-what the hell, Kenpachi? Were you TRYING to kill me!?!" The tangerine-haired youth asked, clearly shocked. The scarred man smirked.

"We're gonna finish our rematch at last!" He yelled in bloodthirsty anticipation. Ichigo's eyebrow twitched suddenly. 'Doesn't this guy EVER GIVE UP????' he thought in nervous irritation.

Zaraki raised his sword and grinned. "Now let's finish this!" he yelled as he prepared to swing it at Ichigo.

"Ken-chan, look!" Zaraki's pink-haired companion squealed. Zaraki blinked and sighed. There fluttering in the breeze was a single black butterfly. Yachiru was attempting to catch it but her attempts were failing miserably. The Captain turned back to Ichigo.

"We'll continue this later, Ichigo!" The insane man promised Ichigo with one last bloodthirsty grin. Then he turned to his pink-haired companion who quickly scrambled onto his shoulder. Then the insane Captain quickly leaped onto the nearby blue rooftop. Then, with a small spray of broken shingles, he quickly ran off in a whirlwind of speed.

The youth sighed. "Thank goodness that's over." he stated in ill-concealed relief. He then sighed started to set off in another direction. 'I wonder if anyone else might know where _she_ is...' he wondered.

Inside the enormous computer room of the 12th division, a raven-haired girl silently typed in another set of data into the computer. Ever since the Baunt uprising, her taichou had been ordering her to sift through the data. Much of the data regarding the Baunts and even the shinigami had viruses or some sort of lock on them. Thanks to that, the girl had to enter the data by hand. Since the data was so important, the raven-haired fuku-taichou had been supervised by her ever so grumpy taichou. He was currently observing the girl's work with his freakish face was twisted into a look of annoyance.

"Hurry it up, Nemu!" he snapped. The girl's only reply was to quicken the pace at which she typed. The pasty-white captain frowned and crossed his pale white arms. 'I will never forgive that Ichinose. If he were still alive, I would rip him limb from limb for all the trouble he's given me.' The man thought furiously as his eyebrow twitched continuously.

"Mayuri-sama." The raven-haired fuku-taichou spoke up. The Captain's eyes narrowed. He knew that he had instilled it into his subordinates never to speak directly to him unless he allowed. For his own fuku-taichou to disobey meant something important.

"What is it?" he asked in a irritated tone of voice. Nemu glanced back at her taichou.

"The Jigoku chou is here." She stated emotionlessly.

Mayuri twitched an eyebrow. 'I thought it was something important...' he sighed. 'Damn it and I wanted this data input to be finished already. Good help is so hard to find.' he grumbled mentally.

"Well get up stupid girl!" he snarled in furious annoyance.

'This meeting had BETTER be important.' the Captain snarled in his head as he stood up. His fuku-taichou stood up and followed him to the door. He silently raised up a hand and the jigoku chou fluttered and settled in his open hand. He smiled viciously as he crushed the beautiful butterfly in his hand.

'What a disgusting creature.' he thought as he opened his hand and let the parts of the butterfly flutter to the floor. Then he silently left the room with the emotionless raven-haired girl.

Meanwhile, the blond shinigami known as Matsumoto sighed as she sat down in from of the sake stand. She pouted as she thought of how her precious paycheck would be cut. In her head, a chibi Matsumoto was being tortured by a evil chibi taichou with devil horns and a devil stick thingy.

"I so wanted some sake. Taichou is soo mean." she whined pitifully as she drooled pathetically over the different brands of sake she couldn't have. Her bright blue eyes then drifted over a brown box with a green label on it. She saw the title of the box and realized something devious. 'Hey this is taichou's favorite brand!' She thought suddenly as a plan began to hatch in her evil plotting mind. 'Maybe taichou could decide not to cut my paycheck if I buy some of this tea.' The blond plotted. As she fumbled around in her gi's inner pocket, she suddenly noticed a flicker of black in the side of her vision. She turned to see black swallowtail butterfly fluttering in the breeze near her. She sighed and pouted once more.

"Guess Taichou's tea will have to wait." She whined pitifully as she headed off to the meeting followed by the graceful jigoku chou.

Ichigo's eyes wandered from left to right as he attempted to discern his surroundings. He groaned in frustration as he gave up. 'Damn it everything looks like the same damn thing around here! I am SERIOUSLY gonna KILL whoever thought of this stupid building plan.' he thought in irritation.

Elsewhere an elderly man with a captain's haori on sneezed softly.

"Wonder who was talking about me? Must have been Kurotsuki-taichou griping about the meeting..." the elderly man muttered. His slightly younger fuku-taichou stared at him in silent agreement.

Ichigo sighed for the hundredth time that hour and decided to just pick a direction to go in. Just as he was about to continue walking, Ichigo heard some traditional flutes playing softly through the air. He closed his eyes for a second and listened to the sound. He then ran off towards the sound and stopped suddenly.

A parade, or what seemed like a parade was slowly coming towards him. Two young shinigami girls giggled softly as they threw soft red rose petals in the sky and walked forwards. Behind them came four flute-playing shinigami in ceremonoius robes, followed by two more ceremonius shinigami with guard staffs. Behind them came an elderly man with regal posture. Ichigo watched as the girls passed him, followed by the ceremonious shinigami.

As the elderly man came towards him, he looked into the silvery-blue eyes of the man and his own chocolate eyes reflected in them. A sudden wave of hateful reiatsu came over him and his eyes widened. His breath quickened and two droplets of sweat dripped down his face. The elderly man passed him along with some others but Ichigo was too shocked to look at them properly. By the time he came back to reality, the procession was gone and the only remains of what had just taken place were the soft red rose petals strowed along the concrete streets.

Ichigo blinked and then blinked again. 'What...was that?' he wondered in confusion. He once again set off for his destination.

Over in tenth division, the teal-eyed captain sighed as he entered his personal quarters. He then reached for the drawer of a dark oak dresser until he suddenly saw a flicker of black. He turned to see a graceful black butterfly land on the dresser. He moaned in frustration.

'DAMN YOU MATSUMOTO!!!!! I swear when this meeting is over, I will ensure you will never have another bottle of sake ever again.' he thought in furious annoyance as he headed off to the first division. He could feel the beginnings of a headache as he silently trudged to the First Division building.

As he walked, his teal eyes narrowed and the air around him got colder. He suddenly noticed frost on his body and sighed. 'Damn it...the stupid sake is freezing up because of my reiatsu.' he thought as he took a minute to calm his reiatsu. As he stepped in front of the building, he looked up at the sign for a minute and then entered the building. He noticed the double wooden doors were shut and there were no guards around. 'Great...' he sighed. He put all of his strength into opening the thick dark wooden doors. When the door opened, he ignored the stares at his unusual appearance and stepped forwards. He winced slightly at the wet squelching sound and continued to walk towards his place in the line of Captains.

Mayuri smirked. 'Oh what have we here?' he thought in silent amusement.

"Look what the streets dragged in, literally." He taunted. The teal-eyed Captain glared daggers at him but due to his appearance the look only made the white-haired youth look like a kicked puppy. Mayuri smirked. 'This is fun...' he thought viciously.

"My, my. Apparently someone needs a timeout." a lazy voice spoke up. Mayuri whirled around and glared at the straw-hat wearing Captain near him.

"Who do you think your speaking to?" he asked of the shinigami. The man only sighed and lifted his straw hat up a fraction of an inch.

"A very distasteful child who needs some timeout." he drawled. Mayuri's eyes twitched. 'How dare that lazy son of a...' he thought in pure anger as he clenched his fists. The young teal-eyed shinigami clenched his fists also. 'I can fight my own battles.' he thought in silent irritation. He didn't dare voice his thoughts though. He knew it would prove to Mayuri that he wasn't capable of being a responsible Captain. Another white-haired shinigami, this one had long hair, noticed the clenched fists and sighed.

"Shunsui. Hitsugaya-kun can fight his own battles." Ukitake scolded. The straw-hat wearing shinigami sighed.

"Yes Ukitake." he whined. Mayuri's eyes twitched.

"Just because your sickly doesn't give you the right to interfere in everything." he snapped. Ukitake flinched. His illness was a rather touchy subject. Shunsui's eyes narrowed slighltly.

"You really do need a timeout. Throwing tempertantrums isn't good for your health." he stated casually. Mayuri's expression was one of absolute fury as he opened his mouth to speak.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" a deep voice thundered. The two squabbling Captains turned to see the elderly Captain with a brown cane in his hand. Shunsui smiled under his straw hat.

"Gomen nasai Yamaji." he responded airily. Mayuri didn't even grace the old man with a response. 'Damn that old codger. Damn all of them, getting in my way..' Mayuri snarled inwardly. Suddenly the doors opened. Everyone waited with baited breath as three people's heads popped in. They only released their breath after realizing the people at the doors were the humans. Yamamoto stared at them evenly as they made their way into the room.

"Sorry, we got lost." The tall dark-skinned teenager stated quietly. The turtle plushie standing on his shoulder only grunted in agreement. The red-haired girl next to him bowed nervously.

"We're very sorry." she stammered as she backed away slightly.

"Ah yes, the roads all look the same and we got lost and it was so very hard to get..." the rabbit plushie attached to a strap hung across the red-head's shoulder rambled off. The turtle plushie only looked down at the rabbit.

"Calm down." he stated. The rabbit plushie immediately shut his mouth. Everyone else stared at the final human, a dark-haired boy with square glasses. He only pushed his glasses up slightly and glared silently. A woman towards the front, who had short raven-colored hair, glared right back.

'How dare he be so openly disrespectful in the presence of his betters.' She snarled inwardly. Suddenly the doors creaked open once more. Her eyes narrowed in on the doors. She was richly rewarded by the incoming procession. A elderly man walked in regally as four noble-looking shinigami followed suit. Her approving glance noted the regal bearing and proud stance they took.

'These people must be from the royal guard.' She thought off-handedly. She looked even closer and noticed the red scarfs. Her eyes widened.

'They...they are the elite guards!' she thought in silent awe. The elderly man in front of the procession coughed slightly.

"I see everyone is here," the elderly man began.

"I shall now tell you the reason for this meeting and that is to decide the fate of the illegal human shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Dun Dun Dun...A cliffhanger! Yes I do like cliffhangers...review please? Even if it's to hurt me for delaying! Please please review? Or else...I'll "forget" to update...XD nah just kidding I'll update.

For a bit of funny:

Today's Todo List:

Finish Bleach AMV(my youtube username is HimitsuYuki)

Play Rockband 2(I kicka** at the vocals((XP)) )

Play Naruto: Rise of A Ninja(if I don't get bored of it..)

Play Devil May Cry 4(Dante is sooo cool and Nero is smexy!)

Kick my brother's a** for general principles...and because he distracts me with Rockband 2...which keeps me from updating...

Call My Friend to suprise her with this chapter. XD

This was edited for various descriptive errors. Don't worry, there won't be as many skips over to different characters in the next chapter.


	2. Royal Decree

Meeting Page

You all have permission to flame me. I deserve it once again for being so long. I had horrible writer's block, not to mention had one month of no internet. Oh the woes. Anyways, this is the new chapter. Since I know everyone's been waiting, I'll keep this short.

Reviews:

LovelyandDeadlyRosesandLilies: Thank you for remaining loyal to my story. I also love the desserts. (eats them greedily) Also, I'll see what I can do on the character cookie. Maybe I can add her in the sequel. I would add her now, however, the vizard are not in this story, sadly.

J'aime manga: Thank you so much for the positive review. I only hope that this chapter pleases you also! (smiles happily)

Redwritingbaron: Thanks for reviewing my story. Sorry if I haven't reviewed on yours or if I've been out of touch. Sadly, these last months I had my yearly hermitage of horrid writer's block. However, I should be past it for another six months…Sadly it comes back like a biannually period….(sighs at my lame pun)

Digiwriter1392: Can't tell you sowwies. However, maybe this chapter will shed some light onto the truth.

Naruto Vixin: Thank you so much (smiles) Hope you like the chapter.

Hitotoki: Thank you and hope you like this new chapter. Three will be up soon, hopefully.

Sennyo-chan: Sorry, but I was kinda starting to hate it myself when the reviewer(who shall remain nameless) flamed me. So I fixed it up and redid it. There will be some stuff that will be the same as the old version.

xXLiquidSugarXx: Don't worry, this chapter will start up the action. Three will definitely have some action.

Fox Loves Shinigami: Thank you for reading both. I've updated and will update again with another chapter soon.

Tango Dancer: Thank you and hope you enjoy the story.

Iosakkura: Thank you so much. ^__^ Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Now that that's over, the disclaimer on the first chapter still applies. Onto the story:

Chapter 2

Royal Decree

Everyone's eyes widened in visible shock. Inoue spoke up suddenly with a slight wavering voice. "W-what do you mean?" She faltered, backing away, as the elderly man glared at her icily.

"Hmph. Foolish ningen. Why should I answer to you?" he asked with an ice-cold tone. Inoue, visibly shaken at the hateful tone used, looked away and down at the ground. Ishida, seeing Inoue's reaction, stepped forward; his ocean-blue eyes flashing with anger.

"How dare you speak to Inoue-san in such a manner!" the angered human snapped at the elderly shinigami with audible fury. Silver-blue eyes glared with visible contempt at the black-haired youth's tone. For a few moments, no one breathed as the tension between the Quincy and the Elite Shinigami filled the air.

"You're a Quincy, aren't you?" the old man asked after a while with an arrogant tone. The black-haired boy only snorted and pushed his silver-rimmed glasses up onto his nose. "Only a Quincy would have the foolish _impudence_ to even look me in the eye." The elite shinigami snapped icily. Ishida glared coldly at the shinigami in response. "You should be fortunate that His Majesty feels sorry for the Quincy. Otherwise I would kill you here and now for your disgraceful behavior towards your betters." The old man finished. The Quincy's eyes narrowed.

"Betters? Heh…You really think so _highly_ of yourself, shinigami-san." The stormy- eyed youth sneered as his glasses glinted in the light. The two girls behind the silver-eyed man laughed.

"Of course we're your betters…All you Quincys have are your fancy bows and arrows. Of course, you don't even have that now do you,_ Ishida-kun_?" the shorter-girl mocked. Ishida's eyes flashed in anger as he gritted his teeth.

"What are His Majesty's orders, -----?" Yamamoto spoke up suddenly in an attempt to relieve the tension in the air. His eyes were slightly opened in curiosity as he looked at the elderly man in front of him. The man blinked in slight confusion until his eyes lit up with sudden insight.

"Ah yes how forgetful of me." At this, he glared at the smirking Quincy. "My name is Hiroki Morita. I am the leader of the Elite Force Squad of the Royal Guard Division as you may have guessed from my scarf." He stated calmly.

"Although I see no reason for humans to be here. Why are they even allowed in here, especially the Quincy." Hiroki sneered. At this point, Sado came forward and literally pulled Ishida back in an effort to stop the black-haired youth from attempting to kill Hiroki. Yamamoto sighed suddenly.

"They are here due to the fact that they need to see how Soul Society runs. That way they may realize how much trouble they cause and thus may encourage them to not cause as much trouble." Yamamoto said tiredly. Hiroki narrowed his eyes at that.

"Really? Than why isn't Kurosaki Ichigo here?" He asked innocently. The captains looked at Hiroki in surprise and Yamamoto's eyes shifted to the side. Hiroki's eyes flashed. "Did you really think you could lie to me!?!" He snapped furiously. Yamamoto closed his eyes in shame.

"Very well than. I was going to be forgiving and tell you Captains when the ningens left. However you felt you could trick me into a lie! So I'll tell you now!" At this, Hiroki pulled a worn scroll out of the pocket in his gi and opened it in one swift motion. "Our Most Highest Lordship on this day of August 12th do lay down this commandant to my most loyal shinigami to without further ado sever all bonds and ties to the illegal shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo-" Hiroki was cut off by a loud outburst from the ningens and surprisingly the shinigami.

"What? Why!?!" Ukitake yelled out, his mocha-brown eyes wide open in confusion. Hiroki glared at the white-haired Captain.

"How dare you even raise your voice to our leader!" The elite shinigami with curly, brown hair made her presence known. The elderly man whirled around and stared at the girl in stony silence.

"Fumiko," He stated coldly, "You do not need to raise your voice. He is sickly and as such is more prone to sudden outbursts." The girl looked down at her feet, suddenly ashamed of her earlier outburst. Ukitake's eyebrow twitched.

'What is it with everyone calling me sickly today!?!' he thought in sheer frustration. A sudden pat on his shoulder brought him back to his senses. He looked over at his straw-hat wearing companion and blinked in sudden suprise.

"Yare yare, everyone's pickin on the sickly guy, huh?" Shunsui sighed. Ukitake's eyebrow twitched again.

'He's doing this on purpose…' the white-haired man thought in sheer irritation. .

"However, I do also question why you want us to cut our ties to Kurosaki Ichigo," He stated lazily as if questioning the . The elderly man stared at him. Hiroki only ignored the captain and returned his attention to the scroll.

"…Kurosaki Ichigo, who is charged with illegal gaining of shinigami powers, falsely using the title Substitute Shinigami, trespassing in Soul Society, and attacking numerous shinigami-" The elderly man was interrupted by more outbursts. His eyebrow twitched in irritation at the yells of protest. He took in two deep breaths, attempting to calm himself. Finally, he could take no more and opened his mouth.

"**SILENCE!**" He commanded in a powerful voice. The shinigami and even the humans fell silent at the tone used.

" I would expect this out of foolish ningens. However for Captains to add to this useless screaming is disappointing. It seems Seireitei has become much more disrespectful since our last visit. Is this due to presence of that illegal shinigami?" he muttered to himself. In a louder voice he continued, "You know very well that it is against the basic founding laws of Seireitei, to allow a human shinigami to even exist. That existence is a damned existence. The boy should have been killed when you discovered his existence. So why is he still alive, Yamamoto-Soutaichou?" Yamamoto sighed wearily as he looked into the cold glare of the Elite Royal Guard Captain.

"We allowed him to live as thanks for helping us to uncover a traitorous plot devised by a former Captain, Aizen." Hiroki's eyes narrowed after the statement.

"There is no excuse for insubordination. Under the law, there are no exceptions, unless His Majesty allows it. In this case, you went behind our noble king's back and disregarded one of the basic rules that Seireitei was founded on!" Hiroki thundered, his sapphire eyes glittering angrily. Yamamoto's shoulders only slumped slightly in response.

"I understand this, Sir." He responded wearily. Hiroki's eyes glanced at him reproachfully.

"As the Soutaichou, you understand more than anyone the importance of laws in Soul Society," he stated. "For you to ignore a law is even more shameful than for anyone else." Yamamoto bowed his head slightly in response.

Hiroki then turned to the Captains. "You are supposed to be calm at all times. You are role models, not children. How dare you besmirch the Captain's purity and strength with your useless rabble. You are more like children than you are Captains." Hiroki lectured, not noting the young white-haired Tenth Division Captain's calculating glare.

'That man…there is something off about this. ' Hitsugaya inwardly thought although he wisely did not vocalize his thoughts. He then looked over at the humans, noticing the teenage girl trying her best not to fall apart. He sighed quietly and wrenched his eyes away from her sad face. He couldn't afford to feel sympathy right now. If he did, he didn't know what he would do. He had to concentrate on the meeting at hand, and not the emotions he was feeling. He then let his eyes wander for merely a minute, and noticed something strange. One of the blonde-haired girls had an unusual look on her face. Hitsugaya's eyes widened for a second at the unbecoming smirk she gave as she watched her leader rebuke the Soutaichou. 'Now I definitely know there is something else going on here that we don't know. This may require some research though.' Hitsugaya thought as he vowed to himself to investigate whatever this 'Royal Guard' was planning.

Inoue watched as the elderly man rebuked the sou-taichou. Her grey eyes were filled with deep sadness.

"Why?" she muttered. Everyone stopped and looked at her, the elderly man included.

"Why does Kurosaki-kun have to suffer?" she asked out loud as she leaned down. She looked down at the ground in sadness. "He hasn't done anything wrong. All he wanted to do was protect us." She muttered as tears gathered in her eyes.

"He shouldn't have become a shinigami! All he is now is an abomination!" The brown haired girl snapped. Hiroki whirled around and glared.

"That is enough Fumiko!" The girl looked down again, ashamed. Satisfied that she wouldn't speak out, he then turned to the red-haired human. "The boy is a cursed existence. He will always be torn between Soul Society and Human World. Look at what happened to the Baunts," he ignored the gasps, "He could very well end up the same way. By severing our ties with him, he could live a life without being torn between the two. Our Majesty thought that this would be a softer punishment to give." The man told the girl softly. Inoue looked up. Her sad eyes gazed into his and she saw the truth in them.

The Quincy snorted.

"And what would the harsher punishment have been?" he asked dryly. The elderly man glared at him.

"The harsher punishment would have been to eliminate Kurosaki Ichigo." He replied. The Quincy's eyes widened.

"I don't see anything that's 'soft' about this punishment at all!" He snapped. "Either way, Kurosaki is the one to suffer!" Hiroki's eyes narrowed.

"Sever ties or kill him. Which choice sounds worse to you?" he asked in anger. The black-haired youth's eyes widened.

"I…" he stopped when the red-haired girl touched his arm.

"Ishida-kun…" she trailed off. Ishida glared half-heartedly at the elderly man but wisely shut his mouth.

"Are there going to be any more interruptions?' Hiroki asked dryly. When he received no answer, he sighed.

"Very well, what is your answer? Will you sever your ties to Kurosaki Ichigo?" he asked the occupants of the room.

~000~

As the spiky-haired shinigami glanced up at the sky, he put a hand over his face. With the hand shielding his chocolate-colored eyes from the sun, he glanced at the puffy, drifting clouds. He absentmindedly attempted to find shapes in their forms.

'There goes a pineapple…looks like Renji's hair. And there's a bunny….wonder how Rukia's doing…' Each musing reminded him of his friends, most of which were off somewhere. He silently contemplated on his day. 'Where is everyone?' he wondered quietly. His eyes slowly closed and his furrowed eyebrows relaxed.

His eyes opened again, this time with a melancholy gleam. 'I wonder if the Bounto have found peace…' he thought as he looked up at the clouds and remembered his last battle with Kariya. It had been hard, however, in the end Ichigo won and Kariya died. Ichigo remembered the Bount's last words and puzzled over them for a minute.

Flashback

Kariya stood behind him, a slight smile on his face as he looked down at the tired and injured shinigami before him.

" I wish I had been able to see how you would turn out. Kurosaki, I-" He cut off as his body disintegrated into a fine dust that then blew away into the wind. Ichigo sat there, barely able to move as he painfully looked down and sighed.

"Bastard." He muttered sadly as she started to stand. He was surprised when Chado knelt by him and helped him up. Inoue started to plead him to let her heal him but he told her not to bother. He wanted to stay up there for now. He knew when Kariya told him about the Bounto's history, that he and Kariya were very much alike. They both hid any pain behind a mask. Whereas Kariya hid his pain behind a mask of happiness, Ichigo hid his pain behind a scowling mask. Both of them were trapped between the Soul Society and The Human World. However, Kariya cracked from the pressure, would Ichigo do the same? Would he be able to handle the pressure of saving two worlds, or like Kariya, would he end up cracking under the pressure. Time would only tell. For now, Ichigo was content to change his thoughts to something less depressing, like seeing what kind if shapes the puffy clouds could be.

His eyes glazed over slightly as he laid down on the ground and looked up at the puffy clouds, allowing himself to relax and enjoy the quiet. As he started to feel the sensation of floating with the clouds, the orange-haired youth's vision began to swim and he felt the unusual sensation of falling into a hole. When he awoke , he laid there for a second enjoying the cool sensation of the glass beneath him. A soft finger then started tracing a path across his jawline. His eyes shot open with sudden surprise as he sat up sharply. An echoing, high-pitched chuckle alerted him to his surroundings. He looked around him to see the familiar blue skyscrapers and sideways skies that marked his inner mind. He stiffly tensed as a snow-white finger traced another path down his neck, stopping at his adam's apple. He shuddered as the finger lifted only for cold steel to be lightly pressed there. He shivered from the cold steel touching his skin; causing goosebumps to rise up on his neck.

"Is somethin' wrong?" A mocking voice asked. The substitute shinigami had to gather his thoughts for a second before he could answer.

"You know full well what's wrong you bastard! Let me go!" Ichigo snarled as he attempted to raise his hand, only for a pale hand to grab his wrist. The hollow smirked behind him before loosely sliding the sword across Ichigo's throat. aIchigo shuddered as he realized the position he was in. 'At this rate…'

"I could die, couldn't I?" The hollow mocked as he watched Ichigo stiffen up.

"What's wrong? Am I freakin' yah out, Ou?" His inner hollow asked; taking delight in Ichigo's fear. Ichigo started struggling slightly; his eyes flashing with fury. He stopped when the cold steel against his neck increased its pressure. He took a side-glance at the pale version of himself before looking ahead again.

"What the hell do you want?" Ichigo asked, not letting the fear enter his voice. The hollow only laughed.

"You are still naïve to think that I haven't noticed your fear, foolish Ou."

"What the hell are you talking about?!? I'm not afraid of you!"

"You really think I haven't noticed how weak and fearful you are?" The Hollow asked before chuckling at his own joke.

"Like hell I am!" Ichigo snarled. The hollow merely rolled his eyes.

"You idiot. Honestly why do I even bother? Oh well, it doesn't really matter. Not with how things are now. After all, it's only a matter of time before I devour you and take over as King." The hollow stated matter-of-factly.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You don't even realize how close you are to giving me control? How naïve. It's just like yah to be so brainless, Ou. "

"Damn it, answer my question you bastard!"

"How silly. I could kill you right now and take control. I won't though….I want you to slowly suffer until you beg me to take control. Goodbye, Ou." With that the pale hollow began to disappear, and the world around Ichigo started twisting into a blur of colors. His eyes closed for a second and then opened as he looked up at the now upright clouds drifting by. His eyes closed again and he snorted. 'Cryptic bastard.' He than shrugged off the unusual warning words of his other half, and sighed.

'But for some reason…I feel worried. What is this feeling?' he mused as his chocolate-brown eyes watched the drifting clouds in the bright blue sky.

~oOo~

His eyes fluttered open, his ruby eyes glazed over with drowsiness. He blinked once and than glanced at the sea of infinite darkness.

"Well that was unexpected…" he commented dryly. 'Though I wonder, where am I?' he pensively asked himself. He sighed and let out a slight chuckle. "I guess this is the fate of one who led the remaining few of his own race to their deaths…" he bitterly remarked. His ruby-red eyes blinked as he heard the echoes of his own voice. He then chuckled hollowly.

" I should be lucky I'm at least a consciousness. At least I feel guilty now. If not for that Kurosaki boy, I would still be the way I was: Proud and crazy with vengeance."

He smirked as he remembered the last moments of his life. "At least for my sake, I got to die before saying sorry. I'm sure that the brat would never let me die in peace if I had finished that statement." Kariya smirked as he looked up from where he was floating,

Kariya then realized what he said. 'Okay maybe I'm still slightly prideful.' He laughed suddenly at his own thought. Then he blinked.

"I've been talking to myself for some reason." He mumbled out loud. His eyes blinked as he saw a flash of white. He shook his head. Now on top of talking to himself, he now starts seeing things. If anyone could see him right now, he would be embarrassed. After all, he's supposed to be an evil – formerly- villain, not a lunatic.

Suddenly, he felt as if he were moving and yet he wasn't. 'What...is this feeling?' he wondered to himself.

Suddenly a flash of white appeared ahead. 'Is that…light?' he asked himself curiously. Cracks began appearing in the air around him as if he were inside of a room and the walls were shattering. His eyes widened in surprise as the darkness shattered into a blinding light. "Wha?" He whispered to himself.

"That's what we wondered when we first got here." A distinctly familiar voice sounded out. The man blinked and turned his head, not expecting to see the sight before him.

"Your…."

~o0o~

Ichigo sighed for the hundredth time as he began counting the clouds. 'Are they not done yet?' he wondered, for what seemed the hundredth time, to himself. As he watched yet another onigiri-shaped cloud drift by, he sat up suddenly.

"I've had enough of this boring sitting around and waiting. Where the hell is everyone?" he wondered out loud in irritation. With a huff of boredom, he stood up and brushed the dust off of his shihakusho. 'I wonder what I should do. I guess I could wait at the First Division building. After all the meeting should end soon.' With his mind made up, he headed for the First Division building.

Ichigo stood in front of the dark double doors that blocked him from the meeting room. He noticed two prong staffs thrown hastily on the floor and wondered where the usual guards were. However, his wanderings were interrupted by an elderly voice.

"So have you decided? Will you sever all ties to Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Hai."

Ichigo's eyes widened as he took an involuntary step backwards. 'Wha-why would they…' Ichigo thought as he froze there. He noticed the doors open and quickly used shunpo to leave. Had he stayed for only another minute, he would have noticed the cruel smirks on the members of the Royal Guard as they left the meeting hall, and the sad, defeated looks on everyone else in the room.

'What's going on? Why did everyone…why would they do this to me? After everything I've done…why would they do this to me?' Ichigo asked himself this as he stood on Soukyouku Hill. His eyes glazed over as he stared down at the many buildings that made up the maze known as Seireitei. His eyes subconsciously followed the black dots he knew to be shinigami; His hands subconsciously curling up into fists. His glassy eyes showed the anguish, the pain, and the betrayal he felt. He then looked up at the sky and wondered what he would do now.

Fumiko smirked as they stopped in an empty alley in Seireitei. "That went rather well, didn't it?" she asked perkily as she bounced around.

"I do agree, 'Fumiko', everything did according to plan, even with your failure to keep your mouth shut." The other blonde-haired girl snapped.

"Don't be mean, 'Romi!'" Fumiko pouted. 'Romi' rolled her eyes.

"Let's stop with these retarded names." 'Romi' snapped. The rest of the group nodded as they all began to glow a dark purple. 'Fumiko' smirked as her blonde hair turned into a long ,wavy light blue, and her blue eyes turned into a dark purple with a catlike slit. Her shinigami outfit and red scarf transformed into a white outfit consisting of a halter top that stopped midriff and a short pleated skirt with matching white thigh-high tights. The only thing that stood out from the outfit was her black lace gloves that reached to her elbow and the black high-heel boots that reached to just below her knees. On her forehead was a circlet with a horn jutted out on the right side.

'Romi's' hair changed from a long wavy blonde to a short, layered light blue with most of her bangs covering her left eye. The one eye you could see changed from a light blue to a dark purple with a catlike slit. Her shinigami outfit melted away to reveal a white outfit much like 'Fumiko's ' except that her skirt was to the knee with slits going up to her mid-thigh with black shorts underneath it. 'Romi' allowed herself a smirk at her ever-so bouncy sister.

'Fumiko' smirked. "About time we got out of that shinigami attire. Shinigami have absolutely no taste in clothing. Right, Amaris?" 'Fumiko' said perkily.

Amaris merely smirked. "Agreed, Adrianna." In response, Adrianna began to bounce.

"It is time to leave." A deep, malevolent voice sounded out. The two nodded as the whole group glowed a dark purple again and quickly disappeared.

TWO DAYS LATER

Yamamoto stood at the balcony of his office. His head bowed for a minute as the portal opened. He felt pity for Kurosaki's friends. They knew him best and would be hurt by the order as much as Kurosaki would be. He sighed as he remembered how the red-haired girl sobbed after the meeting. He only hoped that the Quincy as well as the dark-skinned human would be there for her. He knew that for Seireitei it would also be hard to follow the dreaded order. He knew deeply attached everyone had become to the determined Substitute Shinigami. His eyes closed as he bowed his head. He knew how most of Seireitei would be too busy getting drunk to do anything. He knew how the only exceptions: Soifong and Hitsugaya would be busy either training or doing paperwork in an attempt to drown themselves in work. He moved away from the balcony to sit in his seat.

At times like this, Yamamoto thinks that he is getting too old for this.

The humans were alone on top of the Soukyouku Hill, none of the shinigami could make it. Besides Ichigo, the humans could understand why. After all, many of the shinigami liked or respected Ichigo. None of them could take looking Ichigo in the face. The humans were so busy drowning in their thoughts, they didn't realize Ichigo's eyes were glassy nor did they notice the fake smile on his face. All they could notice was their conflicting emotions. As if a silent bell had rang, all of them headed into the portal and began to run towards the other end of the portal.

Urahara Kisuke was waiting for them at the end of the portal. He smiled behind his fan and asked them about how things went. Ishida nodded at the door and then at Ichigo. Getting the hint, Urahara waited until Ichigo had left.; the glassy eyes and fake smile not escaping his attention. He then closed the door and sat down at his table, the humans following suit.

Ishida spoke up. "We have some bad news from Soul Society, Urahara-san." He stated coldly as he pushed his glasses up for the hundredth time. Urahara stared at the Quincy, curiousity filling his eyes.

~oOo~

Yuzu stirred the rice and smiled for a minute. She was in the kitchen. This was HER domain. Woe to anyone who attempted to enter while she was cooking, lest they want a humongous bump on their head. As she continued stirring the rice, she heard the door open. She turned around only to see Karin in front of the door with a 'deer in headlights' look. Karin laughed nervously while rubbing the back of her head.

"H-hi Yu-zu. I was just about to grab a cup of water." Karin lied while backing away towards the door. Yuzu's eyes narrowed.

"You were trying to steal some rice weren't you?" Yuzu asked in a sugary sweet voice. Karin giggled nervously as she continued backing away towards the door. Before she could reach the doorknob, Yuzu swiftly hit her over the head with a frying pan that she had in her hand. Karin ran out of the room, nursing a huge bump.

"I dunno why she's so protective over rice. And how the hell does she always happen to have a frying pan in hand?" Karin groused. She then ducked as she heard a whizzing sound. A butcher knife hit the wall opposite of her and stabbed into the wall. Karin's eyes widened into dinner plates.

"I don't like language, Karin-chan!" Yuzu snapped huffily from the kitchen. Karin just ran away from the kitchen/dining room area and went towards the door. She noticed the knob turning and blinked. She then saw a flash of black and knew what was going on. 'Ichi-nii's home.' She noted before deciding to head to the room she shared with Yuzu for a little before-supper homework. She turned around at a huge crash. Her eyes widened as she saw Ichigo slump down from the wall.

Yuzu came rushing into the room. "Onii-chan, are you alright?" She asked in concern. Ichigo only used the wall as support and stood up. He then walked past Karin and went to the door that led to the stairs. Karin and Yuzu both looked at the door he went through with worry. Isshin's eyes narrowed. 'I'll find out what's wrong with him,' he vowed. 'But only after I cheer the girls up.' He concluded as he started his fake-crying routine with a few visits to Masaki's poster and a few proclamations of love for her. Karin's eye twitched and she decided to shut him up with a well-placed kick to his face.

"Shut up, will you!" She snarled.

~oOo~

Ichigo gazed out of his window, watching the sudden winds pick up speed.

'They…why did they betray me? Is there something more to this?' Ichigo wondered as he attempted to push the last few days of events away from his mind. He gazed outside and decided he would wait and see to determine whether or not his friends betrayed, not to mention who actually betrayed him. With that thought, he picked up the sheets and pulled them over him.

Two pairs of purple slitted eyes glowed.

"It's almost time to take action. Can you endure this, Kurosaki Ichigo?" A high-pitched voice cackled in the stormy night.

What do ya think of the ending, huh? ^__^ I know, I know, probably sucky and all that. I honestly tried to keep everyone in character and I'm actually proud that I managed to beat my previous word count (not counting author notes) by 214 words. I know, not much but I honestly tried to write it without dragging things out.

For an extra reward:

O M A K E

Shunsui stepped forward, sniffing curiously. "Hitsugaya-kun, why do you smell like sake?" He asked curiously. Hitsugaya blushed.

"Matsumoto." He growled. Shunsui laughed and stepped closer. He then dragged a finger across Hitsugaya's cheek and licked it.

"Mmmmmm. Mangetsu Sake(I don't own XXXHolic). That stuff;s the best. Here try some Hitsugaya-kun!" Shunsui said as he pulled out a bottle of sake and pushed it towards Hitsugaya. The short Captain merely glared at the captain. Shunsui shook his head before popping off the top and shoving it down Hitsugaya's throat. Hitsugaya gulped and then started to turn a bright red.

"Wha…why da I 'eel 'unny?" Hitsugaya slurred. Everyone in the room laughed. Who knew the fiercest ice zanpaktou-wielding user would have a low alcohol tolerance.

E N D O M A K E

Now for some good news. If I haven't mentioned it before. This story WILL have a sequel. However, I have another story I will start posting first before the sequel called Destiny and Destruction.

Plot: Ichigo and co find out that someone is trying to collect evil elemental zanpaktous. Can Ichigo and co stop them before they are all unsealed? And when Ichigo disappears, can the rest of the group save the day or will they fail? (will be Hitsuagaya and Ichigo based, however, other characters will get some kicka** battles too)

Okay well that's all for today. I am starting to type chapter three by the time this will be seen on ff . net. I promise this next chapter will be up sooner. I was just stuck on the second chapter.

Ja,ne

FrozensoulofMidnight


	3. Mandatory Betrayal

Hey guess what! I updated and it hasn't been two months! New record people! I will try to update weekly. I've just had writer's block. However, recently I came across my notebook of the old version. I was shocked when I found it. Apparently I had written all the way up until the climax of the story! Well after looking at the chapters, I realized I now have a base to work from. So now all I gotta do is detail the chapters, change OOCness of the characters, and voila, a new chapter. So until Chapter 9, I should have an easier time of getting the chapters done. After that, it will still be easier because I had already planned all of the chapters up until the end.

Okay now for review answering. Which will be easy because NO ONE EXCEPT THREE PEOPLE REVIEWED. -__- which makes me sad. I even waited two weeks, just so I could see if I got any more reviews. I run on reviews. If I get positive reviews, I update faster. The first chapter was an exception because of my writer's block. Now that I'm working on two stories, I should be able to get my creative juices running.

Reviews:

Ramecupmiso: Thank you. I'm sorry I hadn't updated in a while. I promise updates will not be months in between. Hope you like the new chapter.

LovelyandDeadlyRosesandLilies: See, since I'm kinda making up a filler arc in between the Bounto and Arrncar arcs, I can't really introduce the Vizard yet. Technically I'm rewriting the arrancar arc in the sequel. Hmm…..YAY! I totally forgot I was gonna do that. Now I can make the fights cooler, and make Ichigo look more

Like a capable fighter than a pathetic pansy…God that annoyed me about the original arc. (cuts off two hour long rant). Anyways, I promise to add her in there. Can you send me a pm about her personality or just tell me in a review. I wanna know how she's gonna interact with everyone based on her personality. Also some stuff on her appearance and any important details, including the mask and powers she has.

Iosakkura: I know I deserve the disbelief. Thank you and I hope you like the chapter. Your Welcome.

By the way, this story has 12 favs and 20 alerts. ^__^ Now if only it had more reviewers…__

Okay now to begin the new Chapter!

Chapter 3

Mandatory Betrayal

As the sun rose, it shined through a window and into a room. A young teenager stirred, his eyelids flickering and he let out a small groan. He then rolled over, fully intending to go back to sleep. Sudden the door slammed open and a blur flew towards the teenager. The boy groaned before sending a fist flying at the blur. The blur then crashed to the ground and the stopped. Ichigo smirked as he watched his father rolling around on the floor clutching at his jaw.

"Honestly, can't you every wake me up like a normal parent?" Ichigo asked as he sighed. His father chose to ignore that comment and then stood up.

"My son! You have surpassed me! I have nothing left to teach you!" Isshin yelled as he lunged towards his son, fully intent on hugging him. Ichigo simply threw his father out of his room and decided to get dressed. As he got dressed, he looked out at the road.

'Was it a nightmare? Or…' He thought as he remembered the feelings of pain, betrayal, and sorrow. 'It felt so real.' His eyes glazed over as he grabbed his things and left the house.

~oOo~

She had been crying since yesterday, Out of everyone in the human group, she had taken it the worst. She silently slumped over the sink in her bathroom.

"Why, why must they?" She muttered as she stood up and splashed her face with cold water. She looked at the mirror and wrinkled her nose.

"For Kurosaki-kun's sake, I must do this." She said as she made a serious face in the mirror. She got dressed and grabbed her keys along with her backpack. She looked at the red letter on the table and frowned as the memories came rushing back.

Flashback:

Urahara looked at the humans as they sat down. "What happened?" he asked as he hid his face behind the fan. Ishida looked up at him sharply.

"The _Royal Guard_ visited Soul Society." Ishida snarled. The shopkeeper put down the fan.

"They found out about Ichigo, didn't they?" Urahara asked. Sado nodded. The shopkeeper sighed. "I'm guessing the Royal Guard didn't like the fact that Ichigo exists." He commented.

"That's the understatement," Ishida commented sarcastically, "No they didn't. In fact, they've ordered us to either abandon Kurosaki or Kurosaki dies." Ishida finished. Urahara's eyes widened.

"Shit." He muttered as he stood. 'Isshin will be pissed.' The shopkeeper thought ruefully. "Thank you for telling me this. Go get some rest." He stated as he left the room. Inoue silently sobbed as she left. Sado and Ishida quietly watched her leave.

End Flashback

She shook her head to erase the horrible thoughts. 'I must be strong. For Ishida-kun, for sado-kun, but most of all for Kurosaki-kun.' She thought. She gripped her backpack strap tightly and walked out of her house. As she exited the building, she noticed Tatsuki waiting for her as usual.

Orihime dreaded this however. Not because she hated Tatsuki or anything like that. She just knew that Tatsuki would pick up on her depression quickly and ask questions about it.

Tatsuki did indeed notice something wrong with Orihime. It happened to be a gift she's had ever since she was little. So when Orihime came out of the house with dull eyes and a fake smile, Tatsuki immediately questioned her. The answer however puzzled her.

"Please take care of Kurosaki-kun for me." The normally happy teen said in a somber tone as she broke into a run. Tatsuki stood there in shock as her friend ran off.

'What's going on?' she wondered as she ran to catch up with her depressed friend.

"Orihime! Wait Up!" she shouted to no avail.

~oOo~

Sado Yasutora was a teenager/man of few words. When he did say something, it was a two or three word sentence at most. However, he wished just this once he could say something, anything that would stop him from what he was about to do. He frowned sadly as he looked down at the courtyard. He noticed Orihime entering the courtyard and turned away. He saw the telltale sign of tears in her eyes.

'She must be hurting even more than we are.' He thought as his mind wandered to the happy memories back when he and Ichigo first met.

Flashback

He had been walking home, as normal. Then he heard what he thought was a fight. Being the caring protector he was, he went to investigate. What he saw shocked him. There were four gangsters ganging up on what he thought was the weirdest person he had ever seen. His eyes were a unusual shade of chocolate brown, and his hair was a bright tangerine-orange. Sado's eyes narrowed as one of the gangsters held the teenager's arms. The leader of the gangsters smirked before he mocked the boy and slipped on some brass knuckles. Sado's eyes widened before he ran forwards. He stepped in between the gangster and the teenager, taking the hit for him. Sado kept taking the hits for the teenager while attempting to free him. After a while the gangsters got bored and left.

End Flashback

Normally he would not be sentimental, however, he knew that no matter what happened next, he would lose his friendship with Ichigo. He hated the Royal Guard. He hated the fact they had such control over him. He hated the orders they were given. Most of all, however, he hated the Royal Guard's arrogant behavior. It was almost as if they knew that their actions would hurt Ichigo. Just thinking about those bastards made Sado sick.

Sado leaned his head against the fence. "If I must do this, it is only so that Ichigo will not die." He said as he stood up and left the rooftop. As soon as he left, two girls appeared in a glow of violet. They shared a malicious smirk as they sat down.

It was only a matter of time after all.

"Soon, Shinigami, soon. Soon you will break and our master shall have vengeance." They both muttered in a sing-song voice.

~oOo~

Ishida laid his head against the cold desk. How had it come to this? How had it come to the point where he had to betray a comrade? He sighed. His hands gripped the desk until his knuckles turned white. He had learned this trick when he was a kid in order to calm his emotions. However, this seemed like the only time it wouldn't work. He sighed again. It really sucked being him.

He knew what the other two had not noticed. Kurosaki had been acting strange, almost as if he already knew what was going on. Also there was a spiritual pressure that he had felt at the end of the meeting. He wondered whose it was until it hit him. He paled before slamming his down on his desk. Kurosaki had heard them. He already knew he was being betrayed. Knowing Kurosaki, however, he would be in denial. He sighed. When had his life become so screwed up?

He could only hope that Kurosaki didn't break from what would happen next.

Ichigo stepped inside the school building, clutching his backpack tightly. He had to know the truth. Had his friends honestly betrayed him or had it only been a nightmare? He knew he would find out soon. He stepped forwards, determinded to find out the answers for himself.

The answers would only cause the pain to worsen.

~oOo~

Ochi sensei rubbed the bridge of her nose. She didn't need the stress nor did she need the incoming headache. The site in front of her puzzled and disturbed her deeply. Inoue Orihime, the normally happy and bubbly young girl, was sitting down at her desk. Her hair covered her eyes and she silently shook. Ishida Uryuu, the normally attentive and silent young man, had his head down on his desk and his hands clutching at the desk until his knuckles were white. Sado Yasutora was looking out the window with a sad look on his normally stoic face. Kurosaki Ichigo was busy reading a book, something he usually didn't do at school. Ochi-sensei's eyes narrowed as she began the usual routine of attendence check. She sighed as the oncoming headache hit. She really didn't need the stress.

Lunch came and everyone left the room, Inoue Orihime being the first out. Ochi-sensei was about to leave when she noticed that Kurosaki Ichigo still sat in his seat. Her eyes narrowed. As she walked towards his seat, she noticed something chilling. His eyes were on the book, but they weren't moving. She stepped in front of the young teenager and waved her hand in front of his face. She then knew her suspicions were correct. Kurosaki Ichigo was in a daze. She decided on her next course of action and decided to shake him slightly. She didn't expect what happened next.

Ichigo was lost in a void of pain and sorrow. He thought that reading Shakespeare would take his mind off of the recent events. Instead it only made it easier to get lost in the void. He knew he wouldn't be able to take any more of the pain. Then suddenly someone shook him gently. He subconsciously flinched and heard a small gasp. He snapped into attention only to see Ochi-sensei with a concerned look on her face. Ichigo paled slightly and then slightly smiled.

"I'm sorry. I was lost in the book." He said as he chuckled nervously. Ochi-sensei didn't comment, only pointing to the clock. Ichigo sweatdropped as he realized what time it was. He got out his bento box and left the room quickly. Ochi-sensei walked over to her desk chair and sat down, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

She could only hope that grading papers would help distract her from the day's events.

Ichigo was about to open the door to the roof when her heard whispers.

"You know, I feel sorry for Hime-chan." Chizuru's voice could be heard clearly. Ichigo's eyes widened. He let go of the doorknob.

"Why?" one of her friends asked.

"Because, she's always around that Kurosaki guy. After all, you know his reputation." She said snobbily.

"Not to mention Orihime has been getting injured more and more since he's become friends with him." The other girl commented. Ichigo flinched. He knew this was true due to the whole Ishida and Soul Society events. He leaned his head down, realizing the truth. He then turned around and left.

The two girls smirked.

"Do you think it worked, Amaris?"

"Yes it probably did." Amarais commented.

"Let's tell Marco-sama of our success." Adrianna suggested. Her sister only shook her head.

"We have to wait until the humans betray him. Then the mission is considered a success." She sighed as she sat back down. Adrianna huffed and joined her sister.

"At least either way, that Kurosaki bastard suffers." She commented flippantly.

Ichigo stopped short as he noticed Orihime ahead of him in the hall.

"Hey Inoue, I wanted to ask you something." He said as he put his hand on her shoulder. She only moved her shoulder and stepped away from him.

"Inoue?" Ichigo asked tentively. She turned around and glared at him. Ichigo noticed the tears in her eyes and took a step back.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled as she ran off. Ichigo tried to go after her only to be stopped by Ishida and Sado.

"Don't do it Kurosaki." Ishida warned. Ichigo looked at him in shock as he stood in front of Ichigo blocking the way.

"Ishi-da?" Ichigo asked in a daze. Ishida's eyes hardened.

"Your only warning. Stay away from Inoue." He snapped as he turned around and left. Ichigo turned towards Sado.

"I'm sorry Ichigo. Please stay away for now." Sado said as he turned around and left. Ichigo's eyes followed the two as they left. He then backed away only to run off, the students watching and wondering what had happened.

Two female students smirked before leaving the hall.

"It's time to tell Lord Marco of our success." They said in unison before disappearing in a violet glow.

~oOo~

His ruby eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat as he saw bubble, each one containing one of his fellow Bount that had been killed recently. The one who had spoken was his former lover, Yoshino. Kariya blinked and blinked again.

"He's in shock, everyone." Mabashi's voice rang out before he rolled around in his bubble laughing. Kariya's eyes became cold as he glared at the laughing blonde. Mabashi shuddered and stopped laughing.

"Sorry, Kariya-san." He said quietly. Kariya's eyes softened.

"There's no need to refer to me by that anymore." Kariya said quietly. The rest of the Bounto shared a look.

"We already know why you did what you did. We've already forgiven you." Yoshino said in concern. Kariya looked downwards.

Meanwhile, the arrancar bowed in front of the throne.

"They've begun to move out, Aizen-sama."

"I see, so they have begun the plan. Very well, observe them for now while I make the necessary preparations." Aizen stated as he stood up.

"Hai, Aizen-sama." The arrancar stated as he bowed again and stood, his cold green eyes staring at his lord.

"You are dismissed." Aizen said as he left the throne room.

"As you wish, Aizen-sama." The arrancar stated before leaving.

~oOo~

I'm sorry this chapter is shorter, however, the next chapter will be longer.

Preview(because I'm awesome)

His eyes glazed over as he remembered the horrible images.

The rain soaking the ground.

The blood covering them both.

The blood all over his hands, his coat.

Her motionless body, sprawled out on the ground.

Omake:

Matsumoto sighed as she hid behind the Tenth Division Building. She didn't want to face her captain. Not after what had happened this morning. She knew the second he got a hold of her, she would be having nightmares for weeks. She could only hope her Captain was distracted by something. She didn't know how right she was.

Captain Hitsugaya hiccupped as he trudged along the road, swaying slightly. He didn't know where he was going, only that everything seemed to sway and tilt. He then bumped into a woman.

Matsumoto turned and blinked before shuddering. There was her Captain, only something seemed off. She then looked closer and giggled. He had a faint red blush and was swaying.

"How cute, Captain can't hold down his sake." She commented before squealing and pulling out a camera. She quickly took a picture and hid the camera away. Hitsugaya mock glared at her before his eyes became half-lidded.

The next day, everyone noticed pictures of a drunk Hitsugaya were pasted on every wall. As for Hitsugaya himself, he stayed holed up in his bedroom for weeks, unable to face the shinigami who he knew would never let him live it down.

End Omake

Also be watching out for my new Naruto story, Apprentice of The


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